At some point, wouldn’t a hitter who can make contact and spray the ball all over the field to beat shifts, come into vogue again?

__________________The universe is the practical joke of the General at the expense of the Particular, quoth Frater Perdurabo, and laughed. The disciples nearest him wept, seeing the Universal Sorrow. Others laughed, seeing the Universal Joke. Others wept. Others laughed. Others wept because they couldn't see the Joke, and others laughed lest they should be thought not to see the Joke. But though FRATER laughed openly, he wept secretly; and really he neither laughed nor wept. Nor did he mean what he said.

I get that the Astros are an analytical organization now, but they hit on their top draft picks. That's how you make a rebuild work. They got VERY fortunate with how the Brady Aiken situation panned out too, because they were able to get Bregman the next year due to it. Having Altuve had nothing to do with analytics, and getting Verlander because he was overpriced and under-performing was a huge reason for their postseason success.

Only point is that they weren't a WS winner success story because of analytics. That is their philosophy, but that's not why they won. I'm a fan of stats, old and new, just thought I'd point it out.

I get that the Astros are an analytical organization now, but they hit on their top draft picks. That's how you make a rebuild work. They got VERY fortunate with how the Brady Aiken situation panned out too, because they were able to get Bregman the next year due to it. Having Altuve had nothing to do with analytics, and getting Verlander because he was overpriced and under-performing was a huge reason for their postseason success.

Only point is that they weren't a WS winner success story because of analytics. That is their philosophy, but that's not why they won. I'm a fan of stats, old and new, just thought I'd point it out.

I’ve often said that advanced analytics are very useful but overrated because most players who are identified as valuable through analytics can also be identified as such through traditional scouting. As you point out, a good scout doesn’t need analytics to recognize Altuve’s talent.

__________________"I have the ultimate respect for White Sox fans. They were as miserable as the Cubs and Red Sox fans ever were but always had the good decency to keep it to themselves. And when they finally won the World Series, they celebrated without annoying every other fan in the country." Jim Caple, ESPN (January 12, 2011)

"We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the (bleeding) obvious is the first duty of intelligent men." — George Orwell

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“There were a few hard rules, but everybody was unique, and he understood that. George’s great strength was he didn’t overcoach. There’s no place for panic on the mound.” - Jim Palmer on George Bamberger “Arms and the man,” Sports Illustrated, April 19, 2004

As long as strikeouts do not matter and HR hitters are paid oodles of money guys like Oliva, Carew, Madlock, McGee, Molitor, Olerud and even guys like Lyle Overbay will be few and far between.

I guess Ichiro fell into that category, as dues Altuve now, but I wonder how guys like Boggs, Gwynn, and Brett would play in today’s game. Would they hit for such high average at the expense of power? Or would they sell out for power and strike out more, given that outfield fences are closer and there’s hardly any artificial turf.

Take a minute off each commercial break. You're only saving 18 minutes a game (not counting shorter breaks for pitching changes).

Fundamentally what is taking longer is longer at bats. More guys trying to draw walks. Strike zone is too small. Guys not going after the first pitch. How many full counts did we see in the post season? This drags games out.

Take a minute off each commercial break. You're only saving 18 minutes a game (not counting shorter breaks for pitching changes).

Fundamentally what is taking longer is longer at bats. More guys trying to draw walks. Strike zone is too small. Guys not going after the first pitch. How many full counts did we see in the post season? This drags games out.

And catchers going to the mound every third pitch with the entire infield coming in for the chat as well.